Sunday, August 24, 2008

Imagine a world in which all babies are diapered in reusable diapers. Sounds lovely, doesn't it? No more human waste being illegally disposed of in landfills, no forests being cut in the name of your baby, no male sterility being perpetuated by super-heated disposable diapers, no toxic chemicals being disposed of into our precious water supply, the list goes on and on.

Imagine all the babies in a product that's easy on them, easy on the environment.

Wow. What a feat that would be.

As a citizen of the world, the wide-spread use of disposable diapers in our society concerns me greatly. What harm are we doing to our babies? To our Earth? We know much about the dangers of disposables...but I'm sure there's still much we don't know about the impact on our children and our world.

Ali and I started LolliDoo diapers because of these very concerns. The only thing we knew coming out of the gate with our project is that we wanted cloth diapers on as many babies as possible, if not all of them. Obviously, we'd like ours to be on as many as we can reach, but we have had enough experience with the diapers in our own personal stashes to realize that diapers are not a one-size fits all. Each cloth diapering mama has her own preference, each baby has a different body shape. Some families don't even use diapers at all!

Somewhere in my academic career, I was introduced to the notion that competition is a good thing. The more folks there are producing products to meet a consumer need, the more quality options are demanded. The more quality options that exist, the more positive awareness is created in the collective mind of consumers. The more awareness...the more products are sold and, in this case, less detrimental effects on babies and the Earth.

With this in mind, I feel that we are right now on the verge of what I like to refer to as, "The Diaper Revolution." There are untold numbers of WAHMs across the country, putting out incredible products, and we aim to be one of them.

It's exciting to me to be a part of this Revolution. Thanks to companies who mass-produce diapers, as well as the WAHMS using the internet to make and sell their diaper wares, the general public is becoming more and more aware of the hazards of disposable diapering and the alternatives that exist. We hope to do our part to create an environmentally responsible product, one that will serve its purpose in a healthful way, one that will touch the lives of every butt it covers.

Obviously, I am greatly aware that there are many cloth diapering alternatives today. I am excited to be entering in to this arena. I am grateful to those who've paved the way and honored to be working amongst some phenomenal individuals who seek to meet the same goal as I: put my cloth diaper on as many babies as it's suited to, hoping our project will also put food on my family's table.

In the spirit of competition, awareness, and greater good, let's all do our part to put cloth on our babies...all of them.